Barcelona presidential pre-candidate Xavier Vilajoana joins Football España to discuss his plans for the club, and what he believes is going wrong currently. On the day of his campaign launch, Vilajoana makes it clear that the new president will not have the 100 days of grace we grant political mandates, and that gives him a clear advantage over other challengers.
Vilajoana is running under the slogan ‘Ready to recover our Barcelona’, and you can find out more about his campaign here. Vilajoana spent time at the club as a player, before taking charge of the Football Sala department on two occasions. Between 2015 and 2020, Vilajoana was a director at Barcelona, co-ordinating La Masia and Barca Femeni.
First and foremost, why did you decide to get involved? What made you think, why not me?
Well, first of all, it’s an internal motivation, I’ve lived in Barcelona all of my life. My father was member of the board under President Josep Lluis Nunez for 18 years, I was a player, first in football, and then in football sala. I’ve worked with the last two presidents, [Josep Maria] Bartomeu and Joan Laporta. So it’s a little bit of wanting to complete the journey.
And also because I have been listening to the members a lot, and they feel like they are being ignored, that they want to change things. They are treated like clients, not like members or owners. And they are sad about that, we are losing the aim of the club, which is our members, and our history.
The great history of the club is because of them, and they pushed me to do it. They told me that we like you, you listen to us, and we think you would be good. So it’s partly an internal motivation, partly external.
Catalan identity has been a topic that has risen and fallen with different Barcelona presidents. How important is it to you and your vision of the club?
It’s a question of history. Catalanism, the history of Catalonia and the club, I think we have to grow from the inside out into the world, without forgetting where we have come from. This is important, and the two things are complementary.
We are a global club, we are a very integrated club in terms of culture, and we cannot change our history, our roots. It’s important to know about it.
The major topic that can’t be avoided is the finances. For people that aren’t accountants, what are main features of your plan to get Barcelona back to financial health?
We must think about innovation, about growing incomes, of course, but we have to do so outwith the traditional routes too. We have to grow alongside important brands, but also we have to look at the US market. Also, for example making money through digital fans, through our academy products. The players who do not make it in the first team, then we have be using those resources.
Equally, we can export our methods and knowledge around the world, and make money that way. Alongside that, we need a very strict control on our costs, and on commissions. We’re paying a lot of commissions, because we don’t have genuine professionals in each area of the club.
I presume you’re referring to the €50m commission paid to Darren Dein after the signing of the Nike sponsorship deal?
Right now, we need intermediaries to make deals with our partners, not agents for players, but for example with Nike. If I want to do a commercial deal, then I will do so with professionals by my side. If I want to sign a player, I will do so with a professional agent.
And it seems like common sense, but for some reason, there are no professionals around the club, employed by the club to do so. It’s very, very dangerous that we don’t have professionals leading the club, and it’s not just the Darren Dein Nike commission, this is happening in a lot of different areas.
Victor Font has announced that under him, Deco would not continue as Sporting Director, while Marc Ciria has said he would discuss it. What’s your plan for the football team, would you keep Deco?
I’m tired of people who are linked to presidents. No, the people working at the club, are working for the club. They have to serve the club, at the same time as the president. I don’t understand the idea that you come into the club on the first day and say, this person yes, this person no, without speaking to people. If I get in, I will speak to everyone first, I will listen to everyone first.
My idea of the club in a sporting sense is to prioritise La Masia, to make sure it is coordinated. My aim would be to have 70% of the players produced at La Masia. I want there to be an overall political strategy when it comes to the sports side of it, the commercial and to have a plan A, B and C. You have to talk to people and listen first, then decide.
Obviously, we’re talking about sporting directors here, but first of all, we have to talk to people. And if these people say that we’re here because of one president, it’s a problem. If they’re here for one president, they don’t understand the club. What Barcelona is. Barcelona needs people working at the club that spend their lives at the club, not just a president.
We’ve lived through Nunisme, Lapoortisme, where do you stand on it? I get the feeling you believe it’s all bit too close, too related to one person?
I’ve experienced all of the isms first-hand – Laportisme, Rosellisme, Bartomeuisme, I’ve been there through them all. The whole thing is too related to one person, the president has to manage the club for a number of years, for five years, and if you do well, then you can renew, if you want. If it’s average, or bad, the members will vote you out.
If you leave the club, it’s not a problem. I’ve left the club four times, as a football player, a futsal player, as a board member twice, it doesn’t matter. The time you are at the club, is time to serve the club.
For me, that’s easy to understand, but it’s not so easy for the others. It’s been the case my whole life.
There are a number of pre-candidates in the running currently. What makes you stand out from Victor Font, Marc Ciria and the others?
I have a long career, I have a lot of experience, at the club, in the sporting side of things, from other sports, but also of the world in general. I have an education in these areas. We have a lot of parts of the club that are very important for the future. And you have to understand the club to make decisions from day one.
The famous line goes that in political terms you get 100 days of grace, but the next president won’t have that. The next president will have to make decisions from day one. I think it’s very important that the new president has a lot of experience, in order to take these decisions.
You’ve mentioned Harry Kane (contacts with his camp have been confirmed by Vilajoana), so I have to ask. What’s you’re thinking behind that? Why him in particular?
Kane is one of the options (smiles). I put Harry Kane as an example, because his profile is not an easy one to produce at La Masia. He’s a very good goalscorer, he has a lot of talent, he can link play very well, drop deeper, and is one of the players that can play in tight spaces. He has a lot of skills that complement the Barcelona style of play. He’s an example, of a player that could fit.
And ultimately, you’re a Barcelona fan, as are all the socis. Are there any memories you have that stick out, that you hold especially dearly?
I have two or three favourite memories. When I played against Real Madrid as a player, I remember fighting against the defenders, this match sticks in my mind. A sad memory was the Champions League final against Steau Bucharest in Sevilla, that we lost. I think it’s the first time that I cried after a match as a kid. And the third would be the 6-1 against PSG. It’s the first time that I lost my mind during a game. I was a member of the board at the time, and I completely lost it. It’s a very good memory for me.
